A Typical Day for a Junior Doctor

Any doctor below the level of ST3 is a junior doctor. This includes the following (training and non-training) doctors:

FY 1

FY 2

CT/ST 1

CT/ST 2

A Typical Day on the Wards

Reaching work 5-10 minutes before time.

Replying to emails.

Printing a list of patients on the ward. We can note down our tasks for the day on these lists (these lists are made and updated by doctors and nurses).

Morning Handover: the night doctors update us about significant events and patients; we discuss treatment strategies for different patients. All doctors (from juniors, middle grades to consultants) attend the Morning Handover. We divide into different teams that look after different wards.

Morning ward round.

Making sure orders are followed during and after the round. These orders can include the duties mentioned here.

30-minute Lunch break.

If all work is done before 17:00, you can help your colleagues, study on your own or take a bit of a break.

Update the lists which need to be printed in the morning.

Replying to emails.

Evening handover.

Leave for home at 17:00

A Typical Night on the Wards

Reaching work on time, or 5-10 minutes before your time if you wish to be nice to your colleagues.

Taking Handover from the day doctor. In this Handover, you are told about the leftover tasks (which can include any of the tasks mentioned here) and about any patients which are not stable and you might need to keep your eye on them.

If there are a lot of leftover tasks or a few serious patients, you can expect a busy night.

If you do not get too many tasks or serious patients, you can expect to have more time to yourself.

You might or might not have a registrar with you, depending on which department you are working in. If you do not have your registrar with you, they will be available on call and if need be, they will come to the wards to assist you.

You might be able to get a nap depending on how busy the night is or in which department you are working, but you will have your pager on you at all times and you will have to answer the pager whenever anyone needs you.

Update the lists which need to be printed in the morning.

Morning Handover where you and your registrar will update the rest of the teams about the significant events and patients.

Disclaimer

Individual duties and days may vary depending on each department and Trust. But this post can give a good idea of a life of a junior doctor in the NHS.

I would greatly appreciate if some junior doctor from surgery department would describe his/ her typical day.
I need to ask about emergency duties as well. Is it a duty of dr on floors to attend emergency calls? Or u have to stay in the ward only?
Plus hows the doctors’room usually? Is it separate for male and female drs? Do they give separate lockers to each dr? Do these rooms have attached washrooms?

Hi, Naseer! Why would you not advise AnE as a first job? What can we expect working there that makes you give this advice? I am saying that because I am an emergency doctor in my home country and I am thinking to be an AnE doctor in England too. Thank you for your awesome work here.

There is absolutely nothing in working in the A&E. That advice is for general people who do not wish to pursue A&E in the future. Because A&E is more hectic than they realize. If you wish to pursue A&E and if you have been working in A&E back home, then you should go for it.

Hi Naseer
Thanks fir your kind efforts to make life easy for new doctors joining or think to join, may i ask, any idea about typical day of a specialty anesthesia doctor?
One more enquiry, i received some job posts for associate specialist anesthesia post, any information about the position and duty?
Thanks alot for your time and informative posts.

I am very sorry but since I have not worked in anesthesia, I have no idea about a typical day, position or duty in anesthesia. It would be best to post this question on Facebook to get guidance from those who have experience in anesthesia.